Cherokee-D Clone Finished

[PaulK]

Hi,

Being my first post here, forgive me if this is redundant. I recently finished a Cherokee-D clone. I posted the same stuff on TRF, so thus the redundancy. Is this ok? Thought Ye Olde Rocket Folks over here might like to see the pics.

Anyway, this is my favorite rocket - and also my nemesis. My first one, built circa 1975, was lost on its maiden flight, just an orange spec in the sky over the new berlin industrial park. So I build another one that year, and couldn't bring myself to fly it. Until this summer, when my son (its all his fault) got me sucked back into model rocketry. The maiden flight is great on a C11-3, lands 50' away. Then the D12-7 landed maybe 300' away. So then I go to a woosh event the next day, throw caution to the wind, and the last I see it, it is landing in a large cattail marsh, finally give up searching after an hour or so :( .

I decide not to let this rocket get the better of me, so I find Thrustline from Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe, and get my parts pack. I put serial # 03 on it, and my name on the nose cone shoulder. My only disappointment was the shade of red on the nose cone, I need to lighten that up a bit. Number 04 is in the paint booth as I write this (sorry no pics of that one yet).

I'll post launch pics when the wind & rain stops around here.

-Paul

[CPMcGraw]

Hi,

...I recently finished a Cherokee-D clone... throw caution to the wind, and the last I see it, it is landing in a large cattail marsh, finally give up searching after an hour or so :( .

I decide not to let this rocket get the better of me, so I find Thrustline from Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe, and get my parts pack. I put serial # 03 on it, and my name on the nose cone shoulder. My only disappointment was the shade of red on the nose cone, I need to lighten that up a bit. Number 04 is in the paint booth as I write this...

-Paul

Paul,

Welcome aboard! You'll find this forum has been a haven for other Cherokee-D fans, too (myself included).

Beautiful fin root work...

If you're really a glutton for Cherokee-D punishment :D check out this variation:

http://forums.rocketshoppe.com/showthread.php?t=157

The thread explains the origins of this model; at least one of the birds built so far has flown, and the others are not too far from it.

Here's another variant, bashed from a Quest Navaho AGM:

http://forums.rocketshoppe.com/showpost.php?p=2702&postcount=113

We'll be watching for those 'Bird 4' images!

[Ltvscout]

Hi,

Being my first post here, forgive me if this is redundant. I recently finished a Cherokee-D clone. I posted the same stuff on TRF, so thus the redundancy. Is this ok? Thought Ye Olde Rocket Folks over here might like to see the pics.
Heh, don't worry about it, Paul. We like having any kind of posts here regarding old rockets. Hello to a fellow Wooshian!

[stefanj]

Very nice finishing job, especially the fillets. Looks like a molded unit.

[Patriot Pilot]

Very nice finishing job, especially the fillets. Looks like a molded unit.

What did you use to finish those fins?
Nice job.

[PaulK]

Thanks for the compliments Steve,

I used diluted elmers wood filler, the yellow stuff, on the nose cone, spirals, fillets, and fins. Diluted enough to spread on with a small brush. Sanded with 220, then 320, then 400. Dabbed on a bit more in the low areas & repeat. I tried kryon white primer, sanded with 400, then 600. It clogged the paper real fast, so next time I'll go back to a sandable lacquer primer. Topped it off with Krylon gloss white.

-Paul

[PaulK]

Hi,

Just finished my 4th Cherokee-D, this one a home built clone (w/excelsior decals) of the long body tube version with the plastic nose cone. I wanted to launch her soooo badly today, but it was too windy again, so stuck with low fliers. I also repainted the nose of #03 with a more appropriate shade of red. A couple comparison pics and one of just #04. I still hold out slim hope that #02 will be found some day at Bong; I'd love to get her back, no matter the condition.

I'm thinking Interceptor for my next clone, so I can reduce the flight load of my vintage one, it is my son's favorite one to fly, and getting pretty beat up.

-Paul

[tbzep]

Hi,
I wanted to launch her soooo badly today, but it was too windy again, so stuck with low fliers. -Paul

Take a used 24mm (D12) casing and make youself an adapter for 18mm motors. The Cherokee-D flies great on Estes/Qest C6-5's and Estes B6-4's. A Quest B6-4 might be pushing it because it has a real 4 second delay. ;)

[Bob Thomas]

My Pics of my first clone, notwithstanding a few decal mods

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

My Pics of my first clone, notwithstanding a few decal mods

Pics on your first post! Excellent! Great looking rocket, too. I flew a Cherokee E to its death last year on its first flight. Consider a) reefing the chute, b) flying on a HUGE field, and c) flying on a calm day. I did none of the three and wound up getting a nice tour of a neighborhood almost a mile away. :o
Gotta admit. It was cool. :cool: (And it was also a rehabbed CATO, so I'm only out a nose cone and parachute. ;) )

[Bob Thomas]

Much thanks to you guys for helping to inspire-my-desire to build again. The posted pics of the D-E version were crude but I think you got the picture. The clone was scratch built and fabricated from BMS tubing and balsa cone. Mounts made from home made balsa ply, fins basswood 3/32 with typing paper veneer. engine retainer clip bent and cut from old window wiper blade inserts (just the right gauge). Decals redrawn from KDS "originals" and printed on my pixma 4000. Just a note, when E powering, I built a foil tape lined 10" insert tube that slides over forward part of engine mount, centered at the top of the body tube to buffer the far-too-powerful ejection charge. Also added was nose weight at the screw eye to maintain stability. We will see what happens.

[Bob Thomas]

Thanks for the comments, Bill. Just found a streamer recovery calculator. The fins were pretty beefed up by a paper veneer so a harsher landing may not hurt.

[PaulK]

Nice looking bird Bob. How did you get that shine? Can't wait for those launch pics!

<Edit> - Oh, and about the chute, I lost my last one on a 15" chute with a 5" spill hole, so I'm going streamer next time. Found some nice 1.75" mylar streamer at local party shop. I put in about a 5' streamer with 1" pleat, we'll see how it goes (trial & error, no rocksim here).

-Paul

[Green Dragon]

Nice looking bird Bob. How did you get that shine? Can't wait for those launch pics!

<Edit> - Oh, and about the chute, I lost my last one on a 15" chute with a 5" spill hole, so I'm going streamer next time. Found some nice 1.75" mylar streamer at local party shop. I put in about a 5' streamer with 1" pleat, we'll see how it goes (trial & error, no rocksim here).

-Paul

I've never used anyhting but a 2" wide , aprox 10 foot crepe paper streamer on my Cherokee, and no fins broken ( knock on wood :p ) .

It boosts far too well for the stock chute, that's for sure...

~ AL

[Bob Thomas]

Streamer seems to be the way to go. 2" crepe 500 ft for 2$. I remember my first crepe streamers would tear easily, tethered by cotton string to the snap swivel. Can't figure on how to beef them up. Product called tree safe water based fire-retardant used on Xmas trees was my thought for flame resistance. I also have caution tape, more resilient, but prone to melting shut from exhaust. any thoughts?

[PaulK]

Streamer seems to be the way to go. 2" crepe 500 ft for 2$. I remember my first crepe streamers would tear easily, tethered by cotton string to the snap swivel. Can't figure on how to beef them up. Product called tree safe water based fire-retardant used on Xmas trees was my thought for flame resistance. I also have caution tape, more resilient, but prone to melting shut from exhaust. any thoughts?

Metalized mylar streamers, they are quite tough, and hold a pleat well for additional air resistance. You can purchase them from apogeerockets.com, or make your own from mylar sheets found at a craft or party shop. I was lucky enough to find 60' rolls of red metalized mylar streamers at a Factory Card Outlet. They also have silver & gold, but the red looks so nice with the Cherokee-D :D.

[Eagle3]

If you want a really durable streamer try tyvec or micafilm. Micafilm is harder to find and more expensive, but is thinner..

[Bob Thomas]

Trying to find a local vendor, but as with Kevlar cord, nobody carries it. Would have liked to sample/see before internet purchase.

[six-o-one]

Oh man, where have I been. Can't have a Cherokee-D post without me sticking my nose in there. Flew my second Cherokee-D (original version clone) today along with the maiden flight of the Cherokee-DD. Posting that in the Launch forum. Anyway guys, great shots of your outstanding work.

[Eagle3]

Trying to find a local vendor, but as with Kevlar cord, nobody carries it. Would have liked to sample/see before internet purchase.

Micafilm will probably be hard to find. I don't even think it's made anymore. Tyvec you can get from the USPS in the form of Priority Mail envelopes. :) You can connect strips together with packing tape and it holds up well. If you're looking for kevlar I've had good success with Semroc's.

[PaulK]

Finally launched Cherokee-D serial #03 sunday on a C6-5, and a C11-5. Too breezy for anything bigger, but she will definitely see a D when I get a calm day. I had to launch at enough of an angle that she was directly over some houses at apogee, but worked well, as the landings were both within 50 yards downwind. Closely avoided a parking lot first time and the playground equipment second time. Sorry for the grainy pics, I had the camera set for ISO400, won't do that again. The launch pics are of the C6-5, the barely visible recovery by the playground was the C11-5 flight. My 8 yr old son got to push the launch button for all the rockets this day so Dad could take pics. Boy was it great to see the Cherokee fly again! :)

-Paul

[barone]

Nice pics Paul. I flew my cloned Cherokee D today. Was also concerned about the wind so flew it on a B6-4 and a 14" FSI chute. Flew really good but the shroud lines came loose from the parachute (knew I shouldn't have used those old tape tabs). Luckily two shroud lines stayed attached to the chute and it acted more like an oversized streamer. Created enough drag that the rocket recovered less than 50' from the pad and, more importantly, with no damage. Looking forward to flying it again when it's calmer and with a D engine and, of course, better constructed parachute.....

Sorry no pics though......got it on the pad but not at launch...just a lot of smoke. Pics too large to post.

Don
NAR 53455

[PaulK]

Thanks Don. I wish my shroud lines had come loose when I lost my original this summer. :(

I'd like to see pics of your Cherokee-D. They can be easily resized in just about any image editor, the one that came with your camera, or even windows paint. In Windows Paint, go to "Image | Stretch" and type in something like 25%, save as jpg, voila!

-Paul

[knight_merlin]

I have downloaded the fin pattern for the Cherokee D from JimZ's site, but it is a .tif file and has no set scale. Can someone tell me what the proper scale for a 1x clone fin pattern when printing would be?

Thanks,
Blake

[PaulK]

Blake,

If you print it out 100%, the size should be correct. If I recall, that is what I did. The balsa sheet width should be 4", the fin root should be 3.75". Are you building a K47 (short) or 1247 (long) clone?

[edit] Oh, and welcome to YORF! :)

-Paul

[CPMcGraw]

I have downloaded the fin pattern for the Cherokee D from JimZ's site, but it is a .tif file and has no set scale. Can someone tell me what the proper scale for a 1x clone fin pattern when printing would be?

Thanks,
Blake

Blake,

Welcome to our asylum...:eek:

If you like the Cherokee-D (which many of us do, believe me!), you might also like this variation we came up with some time ago...

http://forums.rocketshoppe.com/showpost.php?p=877&postcount=1 (http://forums.rocketshoppe.com/showpost.php?p=877&postcount=1)

The PDF for this plan has templates for the sustainer which are the same size as the original version. The booster fins are 85% of this size...

Hope you enjoy your stay. "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave..." :D

[six-o-one]

And as one who loves the Cherokee-D, and with a little guidance from Craig, built the "DD" version, I second the notion that you might want to build one. Besides, the "DD" centers the two "regular" versions nicely in a rocket display.

[knight_merlin]

The DD looks very interesting, and I think I will have to give it a go. On the scale problem, knowing the sheet was 4" did the trick. I printed some test sheets and turns out on my PC's it comes out right at 25%. Now I just have to buy a bit more balsa so I have enought for the DD's fins.

Thanks again everyone,
Blake

[CPMcGraw]

The DD looks very interesting, and I think I will have to give it a go. On the scale problem, knowing the sheet was 4" did the trick. I printed some test sheets and turns out on my PC's it comes out right at 25%. Now I just have to buy a bit more balsa so I have enought for the DD's fins.

Thanks again everyone,
Blake

Blake,

What software are you using to work with those images? I use PhotoShop Elements v1.0, and the images come out automatically scaled correctly. You can also try using The GIMP (a free, open-source program) which works just about as well as PE; or Corel's Paint Shop Pro package. Any of these would be better than the basic imaging program found in Windows...

[hawkshobby]

I thought I would share some pics of my upscale, most were taken at NSL a few weeks ago.
We call it the "Super Cherokee 3D" :)

[Rocketaholic]

Very Nice. I saw an upscale of the Cherokee several years ago. It went up on a K550. I myself like the classic on an Estes D motor. You do not have to run as far:-)

JET :cool: